Event Details

The English Project’s theme for 2016 is Shakespeare and the English language. To celebrate English Language Day on 13th October, The English Project presents a snapshot of the language in Winchester in 1616 – the year of Shakespeare’s death.

The presentation, which will include some (volunteer!) audience involvement with its texts, will be titled ‘Dear, Dirty and Dead Words – The English Language in Winchester, 1616’ and is given by Marcus Barrett. Marcus is a trustee of The English Project, lecturer and Course Manager of English Language at Richard Huish College, Taunton; he is also a language researcher, trained barrister and district councillor in Somerset.

In a talk which will be of interest to the general public as well along with all levels of student of the English language, Marcus introduces three documents written at the time of the Bard’s death. Marcus will look at the conventions and variations within these unique texts which range from the city of Winchester itself and further across the county of Hampshire. The audience will take a linguistic journey through the language in three very different handwritten texts from the Hampshire Record Office, discussing issues of historical language change and addressing the value of language research for students in an archive context. Intended as a more interactive lecture, there will be opportunities for the audience to have a go at some limited transcription work and to discuss with each other and with Marcus some of the language issues raised by the documents. These early 17th-Century documents give rare insight into the conventions of grammar, spelling and word development at a key time in our linguistic history and allow us to observe how lexical obsolescence has been shaped by a changing society. In addition, the texts under discussion demonstrate how working with local archives can provide great opportunities for the study of a range of genres and styles of language variety.

Dear, Dirty and Dead Words – The English Language in Winchester, 1616 will take place from 6:30-8pm on Thursday 13 October at the Stripe Lecture Theatre, King Alfred Campus, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 4NR.